What Photo

Adidas relaunched miadidas with an app that lets you print custom photos on the new ZX FLUX sneakers. It’s not exactly complicated technology, but it does make you answer a surprisingly specific question: what photo do you want staring up at you from your feet for the next six months?

My instinct is something dumb. Fries. A weird face. The Nike logo, obviously. But that’s the answer when you’re not thinking about it. The real choice is smaller—something that doesn’t feel like a joke when you’re actually wearing it.

Sneakers are weird that way. You look at them constantly but not really, they’re just part of your stride. So whatever you put on them is mostly for you. It’s a private decision dressed up as public wear.

I can’t figure out what I’d print. There’s no wrong answer, which somehow makes it harder. The app is still there if I ever actually decide.